Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 118 (Patreon)

March 11, 2023

NOTE: Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter.

I've still got a bit of Writer's Block with this story right now, and it's not because of a lack of ideas.

Honestly, I'm not sure how to exactly explain, but 'ideas' usually aren't too much of a problem. Instead, the issue is often having a clear road map laid out in my head, essentially taking those ideas and seeing a clear path from one plot point to the next (and when I ask for ideas, usually it's because I need help trying to fill in those gaps between the plot points I want to cover).

For those who have tried writing, I'm sure you can relate. You might have a bunch of amazing ideas, but struggle to get it written due to having difficulty seeing how the dots connect (the 'beat-by-beat' of the story, as I like to call it -- when I feel uncertain about the 'beat-by-beat' of a story, it is difficult to get a chapter written).

Alternatively, you might feel inspired, have a clear vision, and crank out several thousand words, only to reach the end of that road map in your head, and suddenly you're stuck.

For me, usually pushing past a 'tough spot' is how I resolve that problem. Essentially, it's like carefully navigating a road with a bunch of pot holes, where you have to go at a crawl to avoid damaging your vehicle, with you just doing your best to get through that bumpy hard part, before the road finally clears up again and you're off again.

Hopefully within the next few chapters I can get past that bumpy spot and have a clear idea of 'what's next' (beat-by-beat), so that I'm not struggling so much to get these chapters written.

Anyway, enjoy!

<< Chapter 117 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 16 (Book 2) | Ch 31 (Book 3) | Ch 46 (Book 4) | Ch 61 (Book 5) | Ch 76 (Book 6) | Ch 91 (Book 7) | Ch 106 (Book 8)

- CHAPTER 118: Power -

My first thought, when I realized Rachel was subconsciously creating a powerful weapon -- the exact same kind that I created, that could slice through anything I wanted -- was to get her the hell out of the house and away from people, just to avoid her killing someone she cared about.

Because this changed things.

If she woke up feral, wielding a weapon that could cut anything, then restraining her would be the least of my concerns.

Surviving her assault would be far more vital at that point.

So that was my absolute first priority.

Get her away from others.

Natalie and I exploded from the couch, completely in sync, with her grabbing Joseph to pull him away from Rachel, even as I grabbed the unconscious woman’s body, gripping one hand underneath her neck to control her head, all while scooping up the rest of her body in one arm, my skin graying as I grew a little larger, turning with her to bolt out of the doorway before Joseph even had time to comprehend what was happening.

Serenity jumped up too and ran after me, the cooler of blood still in her grasp, with Natalie finally following, Joseph hot on her heels.

“What’s happening?!” he asked in a panicked voice.

Natalie responded for me, even as I dashed from the much larger living room into the hallway, and down to the dining room on the right side of the house, where I remembered seeing doorways that led to the backyard.

A very large backyard, with a ton of space fenced off and surrounded by trees.

I was so thankful Joseph didn’t have any close neighbors…

But as I ran for the back door in the dining room, Serenity running ahead to open it for me, the cooler held underneath her arm, I began to have a horrible flashback of a long-forgotten memory.

Flashes of light and color that didn’t make any sense to me.

But flashes that reminded me of this sensation of impending doom that I was now beginning to feel.

It wasn’t until I ran out into the freshly cut grass, and set Rachel’s unconscious body onto the lawn, that I finally focused on the weapon still forming above her head, part of it hidden in the ground, a horrifying realization hitting me all at once, as I suddenly understood what I was seeing.

It was exactly like my weapon.

My sickle.

A curved blade that resembled a half circle…

Except that…

Her weapon was unbroken.

I had two sickles.

A perfect fit.

Together creating…

A perfect circle.

A halo.

My weapon was my own broken halo.

And right now, Rachel…

Rachel was forming her own halo.

Her own weapon.

And the aggression coming from her was escalating.

As if she was dreaming of the nightmare event that caused her blindness, an overwhelming craving for violence, revenge, and judgement pulsing in intensifying waves off her very core. And I knew exactly what would happen.

Knew exactly the end result.

For I’d seen this happen before.

And barely survived it.

It would kill us.

Along with every other living creature for dozens of miles in every direction.

Like a nuclear bomb going off…

So would be…

Her Judgement.

The kind of destruction the man named Lot likely ran from, as he fled Sodom and Gomorrah, the power of a volcano or meteor-strike wielded by a single individual, raining down sulfur and fire upon all.

The kind of destruction that had caused an uncountable number of other cities, and even entire ancient civilizations, to just vanish into thin air, as if they never existed, many of which never made it into the history books. Turned to pillars of salt and sulfur, so too would everyone for miles perish, with zero explanation to the modern world as to how such travesty could have transpired. Perhaps speculating it really was a meteor strike.

All because they were unaware of the power held by an angered angel.

The power of an angel wronged and abused.

The power…

Of an angel seeking vengeance.

A Judgement Event.

This was a Judgement Event.

And I had to stop it at all costs.

No sooner had Natalie and Joseph caught up, than a vibrant flash of lightning cracked across the entire sky, the sunlight dimming dramatically, as if it were hidden behind thick clouds, only for darkening clouds to begin manifesting out of nowhere high above us, moisture condensing as the air pressure dramatically shifted, an entire layer of cover forming seemingly out of thin air.

The thunder that ensued was delayed, being so high up, but loud enough to cause us to slam our hands over our ears.

I could feel the hairs on my arms begin to raise, as the weapon above Rachel’s head began to glow, first gold, and then a vibrant orange as it rapidly transitioned to red, another bolt of lightning flying from one end of the sky to the other in the blink of an eye.

All at once, as if tugged upward by the halo, the unconscious woman was yanked upward from where she laid on the ground, abruptly tugged to her bare knees, and then her feet, followed by her being pulled up off the ground entirely.

Halo glowing bright angry red.

Her empty eyes glowing white, and then yellow, like the very sun itself.

Brightening, causing her to look conscious now, yet being anything but.

Body hanging limply by a tool of destruction, adorned in jean shorts and pink camisole top, Rachel began slowly rising higher and higher into the air, already ascending too far for me to reach by hand, transparent panes of her very soul forming on either side of her body, like elongated rhombi forming the archetypal shape of feathers, two massive invisible wings manifesting piece-by-piece, stretching out as they filled with energy, transitioning from white, to gold, to vibrant red.

An angel of destruction.

Barely a few seconds, and she was already about to detonate.

“Do something!” Joseph finally screamed behind me. “Help her! Save her!”

It was a memory that briefly froze me.

A memory of another time, another place, another Judgement Event, that had me paralyzed as this unstoppable destruction began to unfold before me, knowing the only reason why Miriam and everyone else was safe was only because of the power of her unique domain.

Nearly forty minutes away from here, and yet the people there would likely be destroyed too.

And as for the rest of us?

The rest of the city?

I wasn’t even sure that I would survive being this close.

And there were only two ways to stop this, since the willingness to be claimed had now vanished. An opportunity forfeited by realizing too late what was about to happen.

And so, there were now only two options left.

One of the options being her death.

The other being…something else…

I took the second option, knowing it was already almost too late.

A strike of lightning abruptly erupted straight down out of the sky and became sustained as it struck the vibrant red halo. A burst of white energy rapidly turning vibrant red as it came to life upon contact with this infallible weapon of death, the surge of crimson light skyrocketing upward into the sky, filling the clouds with streaks of more red electricity, as a wave of cascading thunder slammed into all of us with the power of a hurricane.

Windows shattered.

Eyes and ears burst from the pressure.

Briefly blinded and deafened, I exploded to twelve feet, shredding my clothing as my massive horns erupted from my forehead, two vibrant blue sickles forming around the crown of my skull, fitting perfectly together, manifesting a broken but infallible weapon of death.

A weapon of death, power, and dominance.

Regenerated ears bleeding, eyes dripping crimson, I focused with my third eye on her core, understanding instantly her essence. Her very being.

This woman was strong, brave, and full of valor.

Valiance.

The embodiment of heroism.

The embodiment of bravery, having the strength to defend, even when afraid. By no means was she immune to fear, but even in the face of fear, she was strong and brave.

She was Valiance.

And I was Victorious.

In that moment, I knew who this woman was to me.

She was my first successful experiment.

Not genetically related to my current body in any way, instead designed to serve a very specific purpose.

I couldn’t remember the exact nature of that specific purpose…

But I instantly knew how to subdue her.

I spoke without thought, the sustained cascading thunder coming from her so loud that I couldn’t even hear my own voice. Not that it mattered anyway.

My magic would still obey my will either way.

She would be subdued.

My tone was hard and absolute.

Speaking the words of the very first man to ever exist, said to the very first woman.

“Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh, you are VALIANCE, for you were created for VICTORIOUS. Now be reunited, and become one with me. OBEY.”

All at once, the lightning stopped, ceasing even faster than it began, blinking out of existence as if there hadn’t been a violent crimson lightning storm sustaining itself on a single point. However, she remained airborne, the archetypal feathers beginning to dim and vanish, even as the halo continued to glow crimson, slowly lowering its passenger toward the ground.

Toward me, just below her.

Regaining some semblance of consciousness, Rachel’s face began to contort with grief and distress, though not from an awareness from what she’d almost just done.

Instead, she was…

Becoming feral.

Distressed by her need for blood.

Once she was low enough, I reached out to wrap my arms around her smaller body as the red halo too began to diminish, only for the blind feral creature to immediately begin snarling and squirming in my grasp, attempting to get away, clearly sensing a nearby source of blood for feeding.

Joseph…

Who was lying on the ground, unconscious, bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth.

Squeezing her more tightly, I grew out my claws more as I brought them around her shoulders and aimed for my own neck, sinking them in with a struggle, the fresh blood finally catching her attention.

Yet, she didn’t go for it.

Even ‘mostly’ unconscious, she knew who her master was.

I silently gave her the command to drink, having a level of control over her like I exerted over Rosa.

A sired bond, I was now her lord.

And so, she obeyed.

Wrapped her arms tightly around my neck as she buried her face against the gaping wound, her still present halo not harming me even as part of it slid into my face, gulping down the pulsing gushes of blood synced with my very heartbeat. A wound that didn’t heal, simply because I demanded it, much like I’d done with my maimed arm the previous evening.

So too did I now do with this cut in my neck.

And so, she drank and drank and drank, until she abruptly stopped.

Abruptly grew still, her lips still on my neck, blood now leaking between us down my chest.

Silent again.

Fully asleep.

Her transformation wasn’t finished.

But her vanishing halo was still just barely present.

I sensed as it began silently cracking.

Sensed as it abruptly shattered into ten pieces…

And then disappeared altogether.

Broken, like mine.

I let my wound heal up.

I set her limp body down on the ground, and finally turned to see the damage caused.

Natalie and Serenity both had blood on their faces, having come from their eyes and ears, with the fresh crimson actively beginning to vanish as their bodies reabsorbed it directly through their skin. Something I now knew was common for an elite vampire, vividly recalling Rosa’s feet in my own blood when I woke up from being killed, looking repelled by her presence, but actually having been absorbed.

The white cooler had been dropped and spilled, tossed dozens of feet away by the thunderous explosion when the lightning struck Rachel’s halo, both ice and blood bags now everywhere.

Without words, Serenity and Natalie both began looking around for a syringe.

Used or brand new, it didn’t matter.

Natalie spotted a used one, and quickly grabbed it, running over to me.

I jabbed it into my arm as I walked over to my brother.

I was fairly certain he wouldn’t die from his injuries, but he’d definitely be blind and deaf if I did nothing. And while I knew he might be upset about what I had to do in order to stop Rachel, I also knew he’d understand that I didn’t have a choice. And hopefully be appreciative that I did what I could to help him recover.

Still…

This was going to be a shit storm.

No way in hell the entire city didn’t see the sky come alive with otherworldly power.

No way in hell they didn’t see the imminent apocalypse upon them, and feel the impending doom of their unavoidable demise. This was the very definition of exposure, and all I could do was hope that somehow, someway, the modern world was able to explain away this impossible event, much like they’d done for thousands of years now.

Always finding a way to explain the supernatural as a natural phenomenon.

Maybe that ancient city was destroyed by a volcano?

Even though there were no volcanos nearby.

Maybe it was destroyed by a meteor?

Even though there were no impact zones.

Would they think what happened today was a mass hallucination?

I was pretty sure red lightning was a real thing, so maybe they’d find a way to explain it.

At the very least, I was thankful for the cloud cover, which very much remained.

It at least meant we didn’t have to worry about satellites trying to identify the source.

And thankfully, there was no real evidence on the ground that the violent storm originated from this point. Hopefully, this event wouldn’t somehow get tied to this location.

Hopefully.

Injecting Joseph myself, I emptied half a tube of blood and then picked his limp body up, even as Serenity carefully picked up Rachel to bring her back in the house, with Natalie working on collecting as much of the ice and blood bags as she could to put back in the cooler.

They were both as stunned as I was by this event.

Everyone was, including those back at the mansion.

But what could be said?

All we could do was hide the evidence the best we could, as fast as possible.

Fuck, this had turned into a nightmare.

And I suspected it had been all caused by a nightmare.

Rachel’s nightmare.

Something that would never be a problem again, now that she was within my control, but something that made me a little uncomfortable about injecting anyone else with my blood who also had suffered trauma. Because, how was I supposed to know who would become an angel?

How was I supposed to know who else might wield such destructive power?

The power of a nuclear bomb held within their very soul.

Such power obedient to their very will.

A manifestation of their powerful Wrath and Rage.

A manifestation…

Of their Judgement.

A Judgement that was also my own.

A Wrath that had once become my very name.

My very existence.

The power of the Creator at our very fingertips.

Or at least the tiniest fraction of that power, the smallest sliver of such power that was still far more dangerous than what humanity could ever hope to produce.

I doubted I was truly an angel, for such beings were no doubt immortal, whereas I had definitely once been a mortal man.

But the child of one?

The spawn of a being that once stood before the face of God?

Or perhaps even the grandson of an angel?

It was possible.

Not that it mattered right now, aside from explaining why I might have had some natural affinity for magic prior to becoming cursed three-thousand years ago. After all, if all magic was really the life breathed into the world by God, then who else would be more capable than angels to wield such magical power?

Deciding to get everyone back in the front living room, we saw that not only were the windows on the front side of the house fine, but the unconscious Laura also didn’t seem injured, there being no evidence of blood on her face at all.

Damn, I was glad Joseph’s other women had decided to run to the store.

And glad that the butler had gone with them.

The last thing I wanted was to have to make a decision about changing the older man as well, simply because it was either give him blood, or let him be deaf and possibly blind for the rest of his life. At least with Joseph I was already planning for this.

Serenity laid Rachel down flat on the couch we’d originally been sitting on, while I rested Joseph down next to Laura, leaning him against the arm of the couch. Natalie was just coming with the cooler and set that down too, all of us finally stopping to stand there and take a moment to process what we just experienced.

My clothing was torn from growing larger, especially my shirt, but both of my women looked fully put back together now. No signs that either had been injured, or otherwise like they’d just stood next to a nuclear bomb about to detonate and lived to tell the tale.

‘Joseph probably has clothes you can borrow,’ Serenity thought in response to that first part.

‘Want me to go look?’ Natalie offered silently.

I took a deep breath, focusing on my brother, and then on Laura, only to shift my gaze to Rachel.

She had been adopted when she was four years old.

That adoption wasn’t an accident.

I had still been my old self at that age.

In fact, she was thirteen years older than me, and that wasn’t a coincidence or accident either.

She’d been an experiment, the exact details of which I couldn’t recall, feeling like she was meant to be normal, but unable to fathom how she could be an experiment, if that was the case.

However, what I did remember was one important thing.

How would her body react to adolescence?

What would happen when she hit puberty? When she began changing from a child to an adult?

I had that answer by the time she was twelve, and I was reincarnated into my new body around that time, being born nine months later when she was thirteen years old.

The exact same age when her adoptive father died.

The exact same age when her future became completely out of my hands.

It had never been my intention for her to be abandoned.

I thought the foster care system would be safe and healthy for her, since the laws and regulations to monitor that kind of thing were far more advanced than they used to be in older civilizations. Even more adequate compared to a hundred years ago.

And so I thought that all her needs would be met, both physically and emotionally, as she grew up in a first world country, where she always had food, always had a roof over her head, always had caregivers to attend to her needs.

That she’d grow up to be a healthy stable adult, who lacked nothing that normal kids had.

And when I realized I was wrong, that she needed something more than a home where they took care of kids just for the money, I found a way to ensure she had a good family to call home, feeling like a couple in their fifties was plenty young enough to ensure they’d survive until adulthood.

But fate had other plans.

My rebirth coincided with her adoptive father’s death.

Only for her adoptive mother’s death to soon follow, four years later, when I was only four years old.

I couldn’t really remember any details, but I could recall the facts, and see how those lined up with Rachel’s life.

I also knew there was another experiment, prior to me.

Starting with Rachel, there were three attempts and three successes in total, although the purpose of the second one eluded me, just as the true purpose of the first did. Part of me wished I could just remember the details, but I knew there was no way for me to force it. No doubt I’d need something to trigger the memories.

Serenity was about to come with both me and Natalie, to get me some different clothes, but stopped when we all heard a phone vibrating. A sound coming from Laura’s back pocket.

“That’s probably her daughter,” Serenity commented, deciding to answer it in order to let them know everything was okay. “You two go ahead.”

I simply nodded, knowing I would be aware of what was said from her mind.

Unsurprisingly, Jamie was panicked when she answered, already being convinced that it must have something to do with us. Serenity was honest, but also kept it vague.

Laura, her mother, was fine.

Joseph was also going to be fine.

Rachel was okay too, but reacted in a way we weren’t expecting, likely caused by dreaming about what happened to her, prior to her losing her eyesight.

Jamie commented about that sounding like the understatement of the year, and then proceeded to ask if they should come back now, or wait.

Serenity told her that it was up to them, offering to give her a call when her mother woke up, if she wanted.

Jamie agreed that she would prefer to do that.

Serenity again reassured her that everything was okay, that what happened was a fluke unique to Rachel, and that it wouldn’t happen with anyone else.

Jamie thanked her and they hung up.

Natalie and I were already on the left side of the house, opening doors to see what resided within. Given what we now knew about Joseph’s family, neither of us were too surprised to find several bedrooms that looked like they only had female occupants. However, I was still a bit shocked when we opened Joseph’s bedroom, because it was objectively a masculine room, with no hint of feminine touches within.

To the point that I wondered if Joseph actually slept by himself at night.

Something that probably made sense if he was the only one who got up for work, and especially if most of his women were initially lesbian when he met them. But it was still surprising to see evidence that their relationship really wasn’t like mine at all.

No doubt he did have a sexual relationship with Jamie, as well as the two other women who had left with her, but it wasn’t like my situation, where all my women wanted to be sexually intimate specifically with me.

A part of me couldn’t help but wonder if it was because I was biologically an incubus, whereas he was only a fourth. Sure, I was ‘supposed’ to be half-incubus, but based on how powerful my compulsion was, and the fact that I engineered this body, I had no doubts at this point that I was just as much a true incubus as my biological father had been.

Only a more powerful version, with the traits of other demons.

However, the moment I started thinking that, nearly everyone began chastising me.

Miriam chastised me, claiming that, if anything, it helped me resist her charm.

Gwen chastised me, pointing out that she wanted me even when I was Unrecognizable.

Serenity chastised me, listing out all the qualities that caused her to fall in love with me.

Natalie even chastised me, forcing me to remember how sincerely hesitant she’d been about me at first, and how it was who I was as a person that resulted in her falling in love with me. Who I was as her alpha, that caused her to trust me wholeheartedly, something that was very different compared to her former alpha.

Gabriella and Michelle both chastised me.

The only two who didn’t immediately disagree was Avery and Delilah, both because they just didn’t know if that was a factor, but both also not really caring. Avery definitely didn’t care if her pull to me was related to me being an incubus or not.

She was still infatuated either way.

And the same could be said about Delilah.

Natalie then echoed what Joseph himself had stated -- that he specifically targeted relationships with lesbian women, in hopes that it would prevent them from being compelled. It was both his kink, and also likely a safety net for him, though one that clearly turned out to be ineffective in the end.

I couldn’t really argue with them on any of those points.

Which meant that Joseph’s situation was simply one of his own choosing.

And given how neat his room was, especially compared to how messy the other women’s rooms were, I suspected this was how he truly preferred it.

Joseph’s closet was immaculate.

Everything ironed and just as pristine as I’d expect in an actual store.

Not a single article of clothing misplaced or lying on the floor.

Being that Joseph was actually fairly muscular like me, it quickly became clear that his clothing would fit just fine. He had a ton of suits, but Natalie managed to help me find a normal pair of jeans and white button-up shirt to change into. She then took my torn clothes out to the car to toss in the backseat.

It was just as I was heading back into the larger living room, Serenity exiting the smaller living room to meet me, that I unexpectedly sensed something from Rachel.

Sensed her rouse to consciousness.

Sensed her body shift, as she fully transformed for the first time.

Sensed her healed eyes fly open in alarm, seemingly in shock.

I quickly ran across the room, Serenity turning right back around to lead the way, wanting to make sure Rachel didn’t panic again.

But it was too late.

She was already panicking.

I sensed her close her eyes again, reaching up to cover her face with her hands.

Serenity’s tone was reassuring as she stepped back into the smaller living room. “It’s alright, you’re okay. You’re safe, Rachel.”

She didn’t respond.

I hurried into the room too, and slowed down as I focused on her.

Saw with my own eyes as she trembled, her body just as dark gray as Serenity’s was when transformed, her normally light brown hair just as black, covering her gray face with her dark hands as she tried to keep herself from fully panicking…

Whether or not it was an anxiety that came from her nightmare, or from remembering what happened, I honestly didn’t know.

The only thing that was different was her mouth.

Serenity’s lips were vivid purple, similar to Gwen’s, but Rachel’s lips were pale like Avery and Michelle’s lips, having a sort of frosted look to them. A sharp contrast to her much darker gray skin, most of which was visible thanks to her pink camisole shirt riding up to reveal the majority of her toned gray stomach, all of her shiny gray legs showing due to the jean shorts.

Also just like Serenity, her skin had a slight shine to it, as if she’d been rubbed with a light layer of suntan lotion, or some other kind of transparent oil. Her frosted lips looked especially shiny, even though they were obviously dry, similar to Miriam and Delilah’s tail and wings, except opposite in color.

Carefully, I slipped past Serenity and slowly eased myself down onto the floor in front of the couch, knowing she could sense my presence and feeling her anxiety escalate because of it.

My tone was gentle. “You’re safe,” I whispered. “No one is going to hurt you.”

She sobbed then, uncontrollably so.

“You’re safe,” I repeated more firmly.

A promise.

That she was safe and would be safe.

“No one is going to hurt you,” I added again emphatically.

She took a few shaky breaths, trying to collect herself, even as Natalie hurried into the room.

“We’re all here,” my blue-haired wife reassured her. “And Joseph is fine. Laura too.” Her tone became more lighthearted. “All the others left to grab some hair dye, because they found out my hair is permanently blue, and they all decided they wanted to use this opportunity to form their own band.”

Rachel laughed at that, only to sniffle, a tremble running down her body.

She then finally spoke up, her voice quivering. “It…it w-wasn’t a d-dream…was it…” she whimpered.

I sighed. “Depends on which part you’re talking about,” I admitted.

She grimaced, her shiny frosted lips tugging to the side, eyes still covered with her dark hands. “I…I felt like…I was going to kill everyone. Like I wanted to die, and take everyone with me.” She abruptly pursed her lips then, almost convulsively swallowing. “And I remember…drinking…and kissing…”

I was a little surprised she perceived her lips being on my neck as kissing, but also knew I didn’t have access to her mind like the others, to know what her perception of the situation had been. My awareness of her wellbeing was similar to Rosa though, so maybe I would be able to pick up on that kind of stuff if I focused.

But for all I knew, maybe she did really view it as kissing my neck, even though the entire purpose behind it was so she could drink my blood. Perhaps, in her head, she was kissing me afterward as a sort of ‘thank you.’

A show of appreciation.

Both for stopping her, and for fulfilling her desperate need for blood.

When I didn’t respond, she trembled again, her anxiety spiking a second time. “S-So now w-w-what,” she stammered.

I sighed. “Now…you’re immune to compulsion. And now, you have your vision back.”

“B-But…” she attempted, her voice catching in her throat as her heart rate escalated. “I mean…now what do I have to do?”

My brow furrowed at that, wondering if it was this new bond that had her so anxious. My tone was gentle and reassuring. “Now, you can live your life, Rachel. You can do whatever you want. Continue living here with your family, if you want. Nothing has to change for you. My blood was a gift to you. A real gift. No strings attached.”

Her face scrunched up at that, and she sniffled.

Natalie decided to chime in, her tone quiet. “He’s a good alpha,” she whispered. “I’m not with him because he made me. It’s because it was what I wanted.”

“So I can stay here?” she whimpered.

“Yep,” I said reassuringly. “Now, why don’t you open your eyes, Rachel. Open your eyes and see the world around you. There’s no reason for you to be afraid.”

She trembled again, before slowly lowering her hands, tentatively opening her eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

Eyes that had a black background instead of white, a midnight sclera, just like everyone else…

Vibrant emerald irises, looking like they were shimmering with sparks of green light.

Slowly, she shifted her gaze to me, her brow furrowing slightly as she turned her head, focusing directly on my face.

Her forehead furrowed…with intense awe.

“So…beautiful,” she whispered.

I couldn’t respond.

Her vibrant green eyes, set against a midnight background, were mesmerizing on their own, but that wasn’t what had my attention.

Her eyes had one other unique feature, something I’d only seen on one other person.

A white ring.

Directly around her pupil.

Glowing brightly.

The exact same as Michelle.

The eyes of an angel.

The eyes of one who was ascended.

Rachel and Michelle…

Were both angels.

And by extension…

Avery might be one too.

FEEDBACK: I realize that the 'event' was a pretty quick one, but there wasn't any way to really drag it out too much.

What did you think about what happened? And about this chapter, just in general?

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